Efl teachers perceptions of implementing content and language integrated learning at binh hung hoa school in ho chi minh city

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF IMPLEMENTING CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING AT BINH HOA SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THI HUYNH YEN Supervised by DUONG MY THAM, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, February 2023 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF IMPLEMENTING CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING AT BINH HOA SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature Ho Chi Minh, August 2022 NGUYEN THI HUYNH YEN i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN THI HUYNH YEN, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for study and research purposes, in accordance with the standard conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh, August 2022 NGUYEN THI HUYNH YEN ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and great appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Duong My Tham, for her patience, kindness, professional leadership, insightful suggestions, and unwavering encouragement throughout the whole study process Without her enthusiastic encouragement and professional supervision, this thesis would not have been completed Beside my supervisor, I would like to thank my colleagues at Binh Hoa primary school They provided me with excellent collaboration and assistance with the data collection and pilot study It can be said that I would not have been able to complete all of my tasks on time during the learning process without their help My gratitude goes out to my loving, warm-hearted classmates who took me out, phoned me, shared experiences, sent materials, and wished me well on my research path Last but not least, my gratitude is especially extended to my family, my husband Without their encourage and support I could not complete my thesis Thank you again and again from the bottom of my heart for everything I have iii ABSTRACT Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) which is considered one of the innovative foreign language teaching methodologies brings many benefits CLIL has become a prevalent pedagogical approach within education systems across the world However, research on CLIL conducted in Vietnamese primary schools is scarce Therefore, this study aims to explore teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of the CLIL implementation as well as the constraints they have encountered regarding the implementation of CLIL The qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews and the observation was analyzed using content analysis The semi-structured interviews with five teachers of English in Binh Hoa public primary school, Ho Chi Minh City were carried out Moreover, the observation fieldnotes also were taken for in-depth information The findings, in general, revealed that the participants had positive perceptions of the CLIL implementation It provides EFL learners with advantages such as increasing linguistic opportunities, improving English vocabulary and competency, strengthening cooperation, enhancing students’ problem-solving skills and language skills, developing English content knowledge and cognition, and connecting the content to the real world and their own needs and interests However, EFL teachers encountered many constraints relating to professional training, curriculum and materials, time, and students’ proficiency during the CLIL implementation Keywords: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), constraints, benefits, primary education iv Table of Contents CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Rationale for the study 1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definition of the terms 1.8 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of CLIL 2.2 Models of CLIL 2.3 4Cs Conceptual framework of CLIL 10 2.4 The history of CLIL in Vietnam 11 2.5 The benefits of CLIL 12 2.6 Constraints of CLIL 14 2.6.1 Lack of professional training 14 2.6.2 CLIL inconsistencies in curricula and materials 15 2.6.3 Lack of time for preparing lessons 16 2.6.4 Students’ proficiency 16 2.7 Previous research 16 2.7.1 The international contexts 17 2.7.2 The Vietnamese context 18 2.8 Research gaps 18 2.9 Conceptual framework 19 Lack of professional training 20 2.10 Summary 20 v CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 Research site 22 3.1.1 Research context 22 3.1.2 Learning facilities and conditions 22 3.1.3 Curriculum guidelines and textbooks 22 3.2 Participants 23 3.3 Instruments 26 3.3.1 Semi-structured interviews 26 3.3.2 Observations 27 3.4 Procedures for data collection and analysis 28 3.4.1 Interviews 28 3.4.2 Observations 28 3.5 Validity and reliability 29 3.5.1 Semi-structured Interviews 29 3.5.2 Observations 29 3.6 Summary 30 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 31 4.1 Results 31 4.1.1 Research question 31 4.1.2 Research question 33 4.2 Discussion 36 4.2.1 The EFL teachers’ perceptions of benefits of the CLIL implementation 36 4.2.2 The difficulties faced by EFL teachers when CLIL is implemented at Binh Hoa primary school 37 4.3 Summary 38 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 40 5.1 Conclusion 40 5.2 Pedagogical implications 40 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 40 5.2.2 Implications for administrators 41 5.3 Limitations 42 5.4 Recommendations for further research 42 REFERENCES 44 vi APPENDICES 49 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Teachers’ background………………………………………………….24 Table 3.2: Current teaching situation…………………………………………… 25 Table 3.3: Research questions in relation to instruments and data analysis ………28 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 CLIL’s 4Cs conceptual framework………………………………….10 Figure 2.2 Conceptual framework of the study………………………………….20 ix findings were discussed in the second section (4.2) in order to compare them to those from the earlier work reported in Chapter 39 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This section illustrates the pertinent portions of our study's findings., as well as the educational implications of the study In this section, the study's shortcomings will be discussed along with ideas for further research 5.1 Conclusion The present study was designed to determine the EFL teachers' perceptions of the CLIL implementation and the difficulties faced by EFL teachers when CLIL is implemented at Binh Hoa primary schools In terms of the EFL teachers' perceptions of implementing the CLIL approach, this paper revealed that CLIL implementation was influential in the EFL classroom It helped EFL learners improve English vocabulary and proficiency, develop English content and cognition, connect the content to the real world and their needs and interests, and strengthen their cooperating skills, problem-solving skills, and learning throughout the context It also offers frequent opportunities to use language In addition, the improvement of interpersonal relationships, communication abilities, and the capacity to function successfully in groups are all positive characteristics Learning activities in the CLIL classroom were diverse, meaningful, and stimulating During the implementation of CLIL in the EFL classroom, EFL teachers have encountered some difficulties, such as teachers' lack of conceptual framework surrounding the CLIL, teachers' flexibility and creation, teachers' training, teachers' classroom management skills, students' needs and interests, support and relevant materials, and appropriate curriculum 5.2 Pedagogical implications 5.2.1 Implications for teachers First, EFL teachers must assess students' social and cultural realities and needs, as well as their locality and living environment, as well as their future objectives for academic education and future job The findings of those analyses will serve as the foundation for developing a list of appropriate topics, activities, and tasks, as well as determining the 40 academic year's aim Second, before utilizing, EFL teachers need to integrate three significant elements of CLIL in their classrooms once they establish the aim and topics: real material, parts of other curriculum areas like math, and science among others, and communication Authentic material should be repaired for young learners Teachers will be able to examine many sorts of real language with their students To gain the understanding of the CLIL method teachers ought to work with other school areas, on the other hand, provides relevant and extracurricular activities to supplement English study, making it more meaningful, authentic, and stimulating for both students and teachers Furthermore, the authentic material should be combined with the units of a coursebook to cover the goals of language standards and school curricula Besides this, CLIL teachers need to be well-organized in language instruction and lesson planning A list of topics and activities for each class should be developed by CLIL teachers who will encourage their students to improve their communicative competence Last but not least, four language skills as well as enhanced socio-affective, cognitive and cooperative abilities should be integrated into the CLIL classroom by incorporating communicative tasks and learning activities 5.2.2 Implications for administrators It is recommended that continuity in CLIL should be ensured on the part of national policymakers It is also crucial to understand the advantages of incorporating CLIL into classrooms through seminars or conferences Primary school education program designers should raise EEL teachers' awareness of the benefits of the CLIL approach in strengthening language skills and broadening knowledge so that EFL teachers have the whole view of CLIL as well and after that convey both knowledge and competence in the CLIL classroom to their learners in the best way The school board administration should be aware of the peculiarities of this method and encourage EFL teachers to consider adjusting their teaching methods so that advantages can be recognized and study circumstances may be improved Further to that, more instruction hours, more conceptual clarity surrounding the CLIL, updated 41 teachers, and English resources are all guaranteed The effectiveness of CLIL in the EFL classroom is contingent on clear policies, the required conditions, and policy makers' consistency In conclusion, adopting CLIL may be a rigorous and complex undertaking due to the formidable challenge of preserving progression, continuity, motivation, control, and political concerns regarding language standards, managing administrative issues associated with foreign language education However, CLIL has been discovered in prior research to be a flexible teaching technique that can adapt to the needs and conditions of any EFL context, facilitating communication and genuine language use CLIL implementation success is dependent not only on teaching learners the new language, but also on creating the essential settings and motivating language experiences for them to acquire (Bourke, 2006) 5.3 Limitations This study just only used data which is collected from some teachers Therefore, to have more validity and reliability, collecting data from students is necessary to in order to explore the depth of the CLIL implementation from both perspectives of teachers and students Because of the limit of time, and the participants, the conductors of the research interviewed only five teachers, a small sampling which is not used to generalize the whole theory It is recommended that future research should include more participants so that obtained results can be generalized to larger populations We would have gotten more information if there had been time to further interviews, group interviews, and student questionnaires The selection of participants is a further factor According to Alvehus (2013), interviewees may experience stress when the interview is being recorded This can hinder their ability to be vulnerable The interviewers' presence and demeanor may have an impact on the participants' responses as well As a result, it is possible to doubt the sincerity and authenticity of their responses 5.4 Recommendations for further research It is the fact that Ho Chi Minh City's primary school levels have received very little 42 research; this needs to be investigated further Only instructors' perceptions of the CLIL approach's execution are examined in this study There are not many empirical studies available that show how effective the programs are in Vietnam's primary schools Therefore, fresh longitudinal empirical investigations on CLIL's efficiency in lower grades in Vietnam are currently being carried out Comparing the academic achievements of CLIL students with those of non-students would have been especially fascinating The recommendations for more research are based on what the current study determined to be the approach's primary limitations This is a field that needs further research because there is not a predetermined structure in place and there are not many materials that are suitable Furthermore, it examines students' academic progress both before and after the introduction of CLIL 43 REFERENCES Alexiou, T (2009) 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I would really appreciate it Many thanks, 49 APPENDIX B Interview questions (English version) Background: How long have you been teaching English? How long have you been teaching English using CLIL? What are your current degrees? What subjects are you teaching English using CLIL? What is your class size? The EFL teachers’ perceptions of the CLIL implementation What are your perceptions of the beneficial features of the CLIL approach? What are the benefits of CLIL implementations for students? What are the benefits of CLIL implementations for teachers? The constraints faced by EFL teachers when CLIL is implemented What difficulties have you seen when CLIL is implemented? What difficulties have you faced when CLIL is implemented in your own classes? Thank you for your cooperation! 50 APPENDIX C Observational Field note…… Setting: ……………… Unit: ………………… Observer: …………… Role of Observer: …………… Time: ………………… Length of Observation: …………… Teacher: ………………… Description Reflective notes Pre – teaching Difficulties - Teachers’ activities ………………………… …………………………………………… ……………… …………………………………………… ………………………… …………………………………………… ……………… - Students’ activities ………………………… …………………………………………… ……………… …………………………………………… ………………………… …………………………………………… ……………… While teaching ………………………… Activity ……………… - Teachers’ activities ………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………… ……………………………………………… ………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………… - Students’ activities ………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………… ……………………………………………… ………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………… 51 Activity ………………………… - Teachers’ activities ……………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… - Students’ activities ……………………………………………… ………… …………………………………… ……………………………………………… Post – teaching - Teachers’ activities ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… - Students’ activities ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… Strengths: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Improvements: ………………………………………………………………………………………… 52 ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 53